Mentor Teacher

The mentor teacher that I observed is a science teacher at a middle school here in the Rio Grande Valley. She has 28 years of experience and usually teaches sixth or seventh grade. The reason that she became a science teacher was because she loved working on experiments and the process of it. Since she was in grade school, she was introduced to experiments and she realized she really liked working on them. She felt that the most rewarding aspect of teaching was to have your students know that you cared for them and want them to succeed. There are students that don't receive alot of attention at home and feel that nobody cares about their progress in school, thus having them know that you are there for them and care about them means a great deal to students. The most challenging aspect of teaching for her was the management of a big class with students from different grade levels. For instance, during summer school students from different grade levels are all in one class, making it difficult to maintain students focused on the lesson. Some of the older students are more talkative and have side conversations, while some younger students feel uncomfortable or that they will be judged if they say something by the older students. The advice that she gave me, was to make sure my students always knew that I cared about them and that I was there to help them succeed.